Let me ask you, if you would, to turn with me to the book of Judges this morning, Judges chapter 4. As we've said in our little series in this book, it's been interspersed with some visiting preachers, and so it may seem a longer series than it has been or will be. But a few more Lord's Days, I trust, that we'll spend in this portion of the Lord's Word and our thoughts in those days of Israel's history. Judges chapter 4, let's again give attention to the public reading of the Lord's word. And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord when Ehud was dead. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor, the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Herosheth of the Gentiles. And the children of Israel cried unto the for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time, and she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim, and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kadesh Naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? I will draw unto thee to the river Chisholm, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into thine hand. Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go. But if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee, notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor, for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kadesh. And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kadesh. And he went up with ten thousand men at his feet, and Deborah went up with them. The Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent under the plain of Zotnim, which is by Kadesh. And they showed Sisera that Barak, the son of Abinoam, was gone up to Mount Tabor. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him from Herosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon. And Deborah said unto Barak, Up, for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand. Is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. And the Lord discomfited Sisera with all his chariots and all his hosts with the edge of the sword before Barak, so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot and fled away on his feet. Barak pursued after the chariots and after the host. unto Herosheth of the Gentiles, and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword, and there was not a man left. Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. For there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor, and the house of Heber the Kenite. And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me, fear And when he had turned in unto her to the tent, she covered him with a mantle. And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. She opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here, that thou shalt say no? Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it unto the ground. For he was fast asleep and weary, so he died. And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jao came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples. So God subdued on that day Jabin. the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. And the hand of the children of Israel prospered and prevailed against Jabin, the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin, king of Canaan. Amen. We'll end our reading and we trust the Lord's blessing again to be upon the reading of His inspired and inerrant word. I'll ask if you would to join me again and ask the Lord's help together with us today. Heavenly Father, as we bow together again, Lord, we would even in our posture before Thee recognize that it is to Thee that we would look today. Lord, grant us grace to look away from the eye of the flesh. Look away, Lord, from any confidence in fleshly things. And we ask Thee that through Thy Spirit, Thou will give wisdom and speak a word and season to each heart today. Again, Lord, we come here with different circumstances. We come in different conditions of heart. We ask that the God who sees and knows every heart would also be the one to speak. Confess, Lord, the words of man. In great preparation or small are feeble words. But the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. And so, Lord, it is to that word that we would look. It is to the moving of Thy Spirit we would seek. And so we pray that in these moments, thou will have yet something for us this day. We pray it and ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. As I've said already in announcing these studies, it certainly is not my intention to do an exposition throughout the entire book of Judges and to look at all the characters who come under that description. I would like for us, however, to look at some of the major events of the book and obviously the major characters as well. And so having skipped over a couple of these characters and incidents already, we come today to a story that is recorded in chapter four and really over to chapter five, though that chapter is but the song of Deborah and Barak, an amazing portion of scripture really that is preserved for us. But we come to what must be considered one of the major events of the book, because as we look at the history, as we consider the story, we go back to the book of Joshua and we put the pieces together. This was a major campaign. This was a significant event in the period that we call the period of the judges. oppressions that the Lord had used, almost as it were, to sober His people, and they had sought the Lord, and He had sent a judge, a deliverer, and He had given deliverance, and the land had rest, as we read that phrase periodically, for a season. But what we have before us here is the gathering together of several tribes, of several city-states, as it were, If you were to go back to the book of Joshua, there was a Javan who was king in this region that Joshua had victory over. And some of the liberal scholars who want to play with the dates, of course, want to say that this chapter is dealing with the same Bible. But it is not uncommon in a particular region, this period in history, for kings to be named in succession and to have the same names. And we understand here very plainly here then, that this Jabin king of Canaan, as he is described here, who reigned in Hazor, which Solomon had destroyed, that the city had been built up afresh, these that had known defeat before, and even their city being burned, that the Israelites, as we have seen already in the period of Judges, had not finished the task of subduing the land and possessing their possessions, as we have seen. And this city now that had been defeated under Joshua has come to life again. It has, over the decades and centuries, grown. It is a city, contrary to the mighty city of Jericho, which had a population of 1,500 or so, this city now in a population numbered in the tens of thousands. And this Jabin king over others of the Canaanites, those that bore that name, this whole northern section of Israel is now threatened and oppressed by Jabin, this king of Canaan, whose city was in Hazor. Now, it's interesting as you read the story, that Jabin almost fades from the scene, except he's mentioned in the beginning and then he's mentioned in the end. There's another character, Sisera, that really figures prominently throughout the story. And most scholars would understand or suggest that this is probably because Jabin at this point was old. So he himself as the king, as the leader, wouldn't go forth and lead the armies, but yet Sisera, a trusted captain, goes forth in his name and rallies these other people. Again, these are a strong people and they had really occasion and desire to advance their territory, to advance their rule or their influence because their city dwelt on a trade route. All the caravans that would pass between Egypt and Mesopotamia and the regions beyond either would have come right through here, thus the reason for the city's prominence being rebuilt so quickly. that was to be the one that was in the midst of the nations. Again, Israel that was to be the one that was influencing the others passing through. We've said before we should be reading of in the days of Judges after Joshua. It's almost those days that we now wait to look for in the millennial reign in which the light of the gospel and the power of God will go forth from that land throughout the other nations. No, in the days of judges, just as we've seen in the days since, more often than not, it is the influence of the world upon the church that always comes to dominate, only interrupted by periods of gracious revival. So we come, I say, to a notable victory. A victory that is given, and if you'd look with me just at one verse in chapter 5, perhaps a little hint of the way that the victory was won Hear Deborah and Barak in their song sing, read beginning in verse 19, the kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan and Pannach by the waters of Megiddo. They took no gain of money. They fought from heaven. The stars in their courses fought against Sisera. Many believe here with other things that are recorded in this song and in this that's suggested of the victory itself, that God wrought victory through a mighty storm. These Canaanites had chariots of iron. Down in the plain there, the Israelites and their footmen were no match for them at all. This was a dry season. Chariots, therefore, are taken out. They're useful. It's going to be a light day for the Canaanites. And yet, the Lord has gone before as a mighty storm. The stars, as it were, fight against the Canaanites. I won't get into all the conjecture of some, but some have suggested here and even in the plagues in Egypt that the phenomenon of ball lightning that runs across the ground, various things like that, but obviously the rain itself and the torrents and the stream, the chariots become useless. These men that had thought to be fighting in chariots are rather running on foot from the Israelites who come upon them. A notable victory, we say indeed. As we come to consider this time, what is the Lord doing? What is true of Israel? What little window do we have again into this period of Judges? Remember, we've talked about windows of light in the darkest of days. I confess to you, as you read this book, much in some ways as we read our own history, it's not always easy to discern what the Lord is doing. That's why I wanted to sing today, God Moves in a Mysterious Way, His Wonders to Perform. You think about all the characters in this story. Again, a story of notable victory for Israel. We have Deborah, a woman, judging Israel. We won't delve into all the questions that have come in the modern context about women preachers and all of that. I do think it's interesting that Bible scholars who for centuries had been studying the word, never came up with biblical support for women preachers until the post-women's liberation movement, and then suddenly it's there. Maybe there was a different mindset that was there when they went to the scriptures, rather than it having been there before. But all that to say, I do not want to suggest for a moment that the Word of God is anti-woman or anything like that. All you've got to do is look in history and see the place of women in the areas where Christianity has prevailed and where it hasn't. I, for one, tremble for women in the days that are ahead for the Christian West and its abandonment of the Christian faith. Do we not see them already, the pleasure objects of men? Their lives troubled on every hand. But a woman is judging Israel. Obviously a godly woman and a woman that the Lord used. But why do we see her and not another? Is it because of Israel's condition? That the Lord has so moved and so allowed in His sovereign pleasure that there's not a man to judge Israel at this time? Perhaps. Is it because of Jabin's oppression? And part of the oppression and his rule and control over Israel, he will not allow a man to in any way be leader among them, to rally them as it were. He just inserts this woman. If you've got a problem, go to her. Whatever the case may be, God has Deborah there at this time. I say so many things going on. Deborah and Barak. I'll say more about him in a moment, but these instruments that the Lord used that the Lord blasts. There is the mercy of God in dealing with them. But there's Jabin, king of the Canaanites. There's Sisera, captain of the host. What's the Lord doing with them? Giving them victory for a season. Giving them to oppress His people. Giving them to be tyrannical over their people and the others in the area. Lifting them up. And then we see so decisively putting them down. We think about Israel as a whole. Can we say that now Israel, because the Lord has given them victory, is in revival blessing and knowing the promise and blessing of God? Or do we see this rather as an amazing, gracious intervention to an undeserving nation who have cried out to God merely because of oppression and not because of sin? If that be true of Israel as a whole, what then of the individual Israelites within the land? What of those we've looked at already? What of Ruth? What of Naomi? What of Hannah? What of Elkanah? Certainly one would need perhaps even greater than the wisdom of Solomon. The wisdom of God to know every heart and every circumstance. all that is going on. And yet, God knows. I mentioned Barak a moment ago and somewhat delayed our comments about him because I want for us to consider, we'll not turn it up, but if you're mindful of Hebrews chapter 11, Barak is listed there in the roll call of the faithful. I believe Paul in Hebrews there, as he's gone through and rehearsed various chapters in Israel's history, comes to a point and says, what shall I say more of Barak, of Samson, of Jephthah? And he mentions these men, even in this period, amazingly, as those who by faith wrought victory and great things in the history of the Lord's people. So Barak, we read and understand from the Lord's own comment, is a man of faith. Yet, as we read the story, we have to ask questions as to who this man was and what his faith was. So I want us to consider that theme today. We, I say, learn from Hebrews, Barak was a man of faith. Let us look at faith in this chapter of Israel's history. I want to suggest to you, first of all, as we think about faith here, that we see a selective faith. And here, rather than focusing so much upon Barak, I want us to think about the people of Israel. We had read in chapter 3 of the previous deliverances by Othniel, with the deliverance also, I was cross Ehud and Eglon. But the great deliverance the Lord had given in these previous and yet lesser oppressions, and yet we read chapter 4 verse 1, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord when Ehud was dead. Here the people have gone off into their sin. Now we know that Barak was a man of faith. We know that the victory that he wrought was a victory that was given in the Lord's providence to a faithful people. And so, there is a point in which we must look at Israel at this time and see that they were believing. They were trusting in God. Look over in chapter 5, which we did not read, but I suggest you hear. Chapter 5, we read in the song that goes after the victory, Then sang Deborah, verse 1, and Barret, the son of Abinoam, on that day, saying, Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. And then we come down to the close of the song, verse 31, So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord, but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years. There is a measure of faith that we must see in Israel, that we must see in Barak at this time. They have sought the Lord. They have believed the Lord was able to deliver them. And they have proved that. But I submit to you that in measure this was but a selective faith. Israel here shows willingness to seek the Lord and to trust the Lord. But in what realm have they done it? They have done it as a result of military and economic oppression. They are in trouble. The Canaanites have come to power afresh. The Canaanites have a mighty king. The Canaanites have a confederation of peoples. They have a mighty army. They're controlling the trade routes. They're overseeing what's going on in the region. And Israel's oppressed. And so Israel cries out unto the Lord. As I read this story and as we see the sequels throughout the book of Judges, it's amazing that Israel will seek the Lord in times in which she's distressed in certain ways, and not seek the Lord in times when she's distressed in other ways. Where were those in Israel that were seeking the Lord and crying out to the Lord when unbelief settled in? when ungodliness came to prevail? When the nation as a whole is forsaking the God of their fathers and embracing the gods of the Canaanites? Where is Israel's belief then? Are they believing that to follow the Lord, to obey Him, to walk in the ways of His Word is more pleasurable, is more happy? Or are they believing that, We've got the land now, the Lord did that for us, but we'll kind of spread our attention about it. Let's learn a little bit about the gods of the Canaanites. Maybe they've got a little bit of light, a little bit of truth. And maybe we can have a little of their worship and the orgies that go with it. You see our point? It's a selective faith. And we're burdened about ungodliness. They weren't burdened about the corruption of their worship. They weren't burdened about sin coming in. They weren't concerned to have spiritual victory. But let their economic situation be touched. Let a little military fear come upon them. And suddenly it's time to seek the Lord again. And say, this is a selective faith. Did they believe the Lord? Did they seek the Lord? Did they trust that the Lord was able to give them victory? Obviously, they did. As I say, Barak is marked as a man of faith and a victory that was won and wrought through faith. What a selective faith it was. I've been reading in my own reading in recent days in 2 Kings. And I just had to marvel at some thoughts in parallel here, really. What we've read of very early in Israel's history in the land, and then if you think with me of later in their history in the land as Israel, the northern tribes are already taken away by the Assyrians. The Assyrians have started mopping up the cities surrounding Jerusalem. Portions of Judah are now gone. And then Sennacherib and his officer, the Rav Shaka, comes up against Jerusalem, and we know of the blasphemous speech that he gave. It's such a speech of such a nature that the nobles of Jerusalem are saying, look, we understand your language. Speak to us in that tongue, but don't speak to us in our tongue because we don't want the other people to hear. Be discouraged. In fact, that's exactly why I'm speaking in their language. I want them to hear. I want them to tremble. He blasphemes God. Now interestingly, here is Jerusalem, and they're in apostasy. God in His mercy has given them one of those seasons with a godly king, and yet there's ungodliness in the land. The high places are there. He's taken away some of them, and yet others remain. What does Hezekiah do? And it's an amazing chapter in the history. He goes in and he prays and asks the Lord for deliverance from these Syrians. And we know the story. 185,000 of that army die in the night. It's miraculous deliverance. But what is it that Hezekiah takes and goes to God and goes into the Lord, rather, in prayer? He takes the latter. He takes the blasphemy of the enemy. And here God answers. Here God vindicates His name again. There are a lot of different things going on here. What's the Lord doing with Sennacherib and the rapture? What's He doing with the Assyrian army and their boasting? What's He doing in Jerusalem? What's He doing in Hezekiah's life? A lot of different pieces of the puzzle. But can I suggest to you that in some ways, again, we know the wisdom and the sovereignty of God. You do not in any way challenge His purposes or His wisdom. But in the ultimate sense, what good was Jerusalem's victory over Sennacherib and the Assyrians? Did it bring them revival? Did it bring them to an amazing faith and a return to the God of heaven? Or was it just another undeserved, gracious work of God that they immediately turned from and ignored? Was it for Jerusalem's godliness that God destroyed the Assyrians? Or was it for God's vindicating His own name that had been blasphemed by the Assyrians? Yes, Hezekiah figures in the picture. The prayer of a faithful and godly man, yes. But I say there's a big picture here. In some ways, that victory is the worst thing that could have happened to Jerusalem, because here they think, see? God's let the northern tribes, all those old apostates, let them be taken away, and He's let some of our tribes and cities go away, but Jerusalem itself, this is the Lord's city. So we come to Jeremiah's day, in which the people come to Jeremiah and say, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these. Don't you understand, Jeremiah? This city can never fall. Because the temple is here. And yet of course it came. The Babylonians overthrow and even as our Lord spoke of that city in the days of the Romans overthrow that there would not be left one stone upon another. Selective faith. I was speaking with my father-in-law about those very thoughts I just shared some months ago. turned our attention to our own days. Those of you that are younger, scratch your heads a little bit, but our own days, modern days, Second World War, which I remember in school thinking was ancient history. Then as I got a little older, I realized it just ended 17 years before I was born. Don't start counting, it'll get scary, but what of our time? We see, as so many in history have agreed in its assessment, the evil of Nazi Germany and Hitler, the oppression and slaughter of millions. We can even see some of the stories. Speaking with the Fittins in their recent visit here, we on a couple of occasions in conversation spoke about Dunkirk. If you're familiar with that deliverance as the British had gone in to engage the Nazis and things had not gone well and they had retreated up against the coast and they were ready almost to be wiped out. God in his mercy spared them. Tactical error by Hitler trying perhaps to be more showy than anything else. It would have been easy for those men to have been destroyed. High school history teacher with a gleam in his eye said, and the English sent over everything with floats, fish boats, bathtubs, logs. Many stories we can tell about the war and doubtless many from our nation and others in prayer seeking the God of heaven in those days. But yet what has happened since the days of that victory in that world war? Who were the flower children and hippies of the 60s and early 70s. The children of those men that came home. The father-in-law had spoken in his own meditations about those men that came home and had seen such horrors of war that perhaps they were unwilling to use the rod of correction on their views of authority, and that's, I'm sure, just a small piece of the puzzle. But I say, what has been the mindset of our nation since those days? Nothing can happen to us. We let the world. Apostasy is ever deepening. Was it a mercy that God spared us and other nations through that victory? The many godly people that sought the Lord for that victory, yes. What has happened in the days since that victory hasn't been revival. You can take these thoughts on in so many different ways, but I say let us be very careful about having a selective faith. You can bring it down to the individual level. What does it take to spur you to earnestly seek God? Financial crisis? Problem at work? Oppression? Persecution? Particular difficulties? How often we are ready and eager to seek God in those days. But let a day of a cold heart come by. Let a season in which our souls are dry in the place of prayer come. How much yearning, how much belief and seeking is there in those? Oh, it's okay for this to happen. It's okay for the church to lose out with this and lose out with that. Then when the time comes that we cannot ignore circumstances and we seek God, are we really asking Him for the right thing? Do we only want our military and our physical safety? Do we only want our economic prosperity? And I say it's important for us to remember we've talked in these days of the judges about the dangers of remnant seasons. What are we really concerned about? What gets our attention? Well, if we haven't had our attention grasped by the church and its condition losing out with the Scriptures, losing out with God, we only have our attention grasped It seems our nation and our economy is in trouble. Then we'll seek God. What are we seeking Him for? What are we wanting? What are we asking for? Let us not have a selective faith. Let us ask the Lord for what we really need. Let us be jealous. Can I say this? Even in the week we've just had. The markets and all their questions. Are we more jealous for the condition of the church than the condition of Wall Street? Let us be seeking the Lord for the right things. Israel had a selective faith here. But secondly, can you consider with me, as we turn our thoughts more particularly to Barak, we see a wavering faith. Barak, as we say, is noted in Hebrews as a man that had faith, and the victory was by faith. We cannot deny that. The Lord has put it before us. And yet, his faith, we believe, is wavering. Or at least, we could say is it is small. He would not go on the Word alone. The Word of the Lord had come through the prophetess. The Lord has given victory. Some have suggested, I do not know if there is enough here to gather that or not, but if you look in verse 6 of our chapter, and read here again, And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kadesh Naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali, and the children of Zebulun, and I will draw thee to the river, unto thee to the river Caishon, Cicero, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into thine hand." Some suggest that perhaps the Lord had revealed this to Barak, and that he hadn't acted upon it yet. And Deborah calls him in and says, hasn't the Lord already told you this? It's possible that was the case. It's possible, perhaps, as we would more naturally read it, that it is simply through Deborah that the word and the promise is first coming. But whatever the case may be, the Lord has given His Word. Gather Israel together at Mount Tabor. I'm going to bring Sisera, captain of the host and his army there, and I'm going to deliver them into your hand. It's done. It's done. He has the Word. His response is, verse 8, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go. But if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. This is probably the most famous aspect of Barak's story. You know, he's the scaredy cat. He won't go unless Deborah goes with him. Some have suggested that we should not be so critical of Barak at this point. That Barak, rather than being fearful, is wanting the presence of God to go with him. Much like Israel of old, in going to Jericho, went behind the ark. Much as Moses said as he cried to the Lord as the Lord was speaking about His promise and that He would fulfill and take that people from Egypt through to Canaan. And Moses says very plainly, if thy presence go not with us, carry us not up hence. You can almost see the very words here. If you go with me, I'll go. If you won't, I won't. And that's in many ways, and especially if you were with us in the very early years in this congregation, one of our prayers in church planting. Lord, if you go with us, we go. But if you won't go with us, don't carry us up. The last thing the city needs is another church. We need the presence of God. Now some might say, suggest this is Barak's mindset here. It's possible. But yet I think as we read the story, There's a rebuke that comes to Barak as we read verse 9. I will surely go with thee notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine own. The Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. I think here we must confess that Barak is rebuked in his request. And so we have a wavering faith. He has faith. He goes forth at the Lord's Word, but not at the Word only. He wants a tangible companion to go with Him. Now, let me ask you. How many is this true of in the modern church? They're ready enough to take the Scriptures, to read them as evangelicals, to confess their belief in them. But yet, before they will go on the Word only, they want to have some companion. Maybe some numbers in order to venture forth. There may come days, we may already be in days, where this cannot be the mindset of the Lord's people. Waiver in faith. There may come days where we need the likes of Elijah. We need the likes of a Micaiah. We need the likes of a Jeremiah. When nobody else is going. when everybody else, friend and foe alike as it were, are coming to say the same thing? Will we be willing to go on the Word only? Or will we only move when we have other companions to go with us? The Lord blessed Barak. He gained a victory. But yet I say there is a wavering faith. If you come and think with me thirdly this morning of a rewarded faith, very simply we see here victory is given. and a sense of what cost. Because Israel does not learn from her error. We read, the land had rest forty years, the end of the song we've read in chapter 5. But then chapter 6, verse 1, and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. There is a reward of faith. Victory is given. And yet I say we have to ask Why is it given? Does the fact that a victory is given, does the fact that a particular prayer is answered mean that the one who answered, or the one rather who asked the prayer, the one who saw the Lord give victory, is all in the right in what they're doing and what they're seeking after? But minds went to Lot in this regard because Lot is one, perhaps in a far greater way than Barak, that if we hadn't read the New Testament commentary, we would never have known he was a child of God. Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom and we see the amazing wickedness of that city. And yet he chose to dwell there as he's given choice of the land. He looks out over the plain and he sees the fruitfulness of the area. And it reminded him of Egypt. He said, I'll go there. Lot was a righteous man dwelling among them, content to have his righteous soul vexed day by day by their unlawful deeds, content as we see ultimately to lose his family. I've often marveled at that since I was a teenager. I think one of the first times I ever had to speak publicly. I was shaking in my boots. I think I was a senior in high school and the Sunday school teacher asked me to do the lesson one week because he was going to be gone. He handed me the lesson book. Oh boy. And it was unlocked. I'm reading, reading the scriptures. I remember even as a teenager being overwhelmed with the thought, here's a man, a true believer. The New Testament tells us. But he had so lost his testimony, And when he went out to his married children's homes, and spoke to them and their spouses, and warned them of the destruction that was coming, the phrase, he seemed unto them as one that mocked. His testimony was gone. His warning to them of the judgment of God was a joke. What a place for a true believer to be. Again, we could almost marvel and say, Lot was lost. Yet, the Lord says he wasn't. He just so lost his testimony. It had no impact on those around him except for bad. I say it's an amazing thing. The Lord delivered Lot from Sodom. There was a measure of victory given. There was a rewarded faith that we might argue was it Lot's faith or was it Abraham's intercession that was rewarded. But God spared them. I even think again about Hezekiah's victory over the Assyrians. What was the reason for the victory? Jerusalem's righteousness or the Rabshakeh's blasphemy? There would come a point that Israel, that Jerusalem, that the church's own sin and turning from God would have been so deep and so extended and so long that the Lord would even with the wicked Babylonians say, this day, the Babylonians get the victory. This day, Jerusalem gets burned. This day, the church, visible church, gets destroyed. Let us be careful even in days of victory. The last thought I want to put before you this morning is that of a challenged faith. If you read the song of Deborah and Barak, a wonderful highlight in this very low book of the Judges. Great victory the Lord wrought. It opens with a hallelujah. Praise ye the Lord. We see a closing with the prayer and the contention, so let all thine enemies perish, O Lord, but let them that love Him be as the Son when He goeth forth in His might. This should be a point at which Israel's faith should be challenged. God gave a victory that they, if they're honest at all, should confess, we didn't deserve that. And they should have been humbled by the victory, rather than being humbled Israel says, well, that's it. Anytime we cry, we can get relief. Let's go back and enjoy our items. Is that not Jerusalem's cry? Even the mighty Assyrians wiped everybody else out, but our king prayed. Look what happened to their army. We can get victory anytime we want. No. God gives victory when He wants. God has outlined for us in His Word what He wants of us. His sovereign ways, as we've sung Calper's words, His mysterious ways at times, we don't understand. That's when we try and piece together the circumstances. It doesn't always work. You win a battle, you're right with God. You lose a battle, you're wrong with God. How do you discern such things? Go to the Word. Go to the Word. Take the challenge even of Barak to be willing to go forth on the Word only. And let the circumstances fall where they may. Trust the Word. Know the God of heaven. Then you'll be able to cry with the psalmist, although the mountains be removed and the sea in its roaring make. Don't fear. Why? Because my God's on the throne. I know what He said. I know what He's required of me. I know what's really important. I know what things to pray for and not to pray for. I know what things to set my affections on and not to set my affections on. And let us pray that God will give us as a portion of a remnant people To have wisdom in our troubled days. That we might have an ever-growing faith. A faith in the right things. Not selective. Not wavering. Not misunderstanding. Even victory. But a challenged faith to be jealous about the right things. To be jealous about spiritual things. About truth. about spiritual reality. And God will give us wisdom in such days, even to rise above a barrack and to go on the Word only. Let's bow our heads together. Heavenly Father, we come asking today for wisdom, confessing our need of wisdom in these times. Lord, we have A Bible clearly given, amazingly preserved. Lord, may we be a people who seek thee in its pages, who seek and find wisdom in troubled days such as these. So we ask today that you will challenge us, even in looking at these little windows of Israel's history, that we might seek thee by faith for the things we truly, truly have need of. We ask it in Jesus' name.